Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Day 163- Hostel Hopping

This morning was my last day at the Cabin, you will be missed; and I was told I would be too! We drove up to ME17 and would be slacking to our packs at the Farmhouse Inn. Alpine and Babs did a road walk and the rest of us headed into the woods for another 13.2 day. Miss Janet (trail angel who had a hostel at one point, now she has a van that she drives up the trail helping hikers out) was there with Hog Driver (who has been assisted with her for some time now) and Freckles and Drag N Fly. We said our goodbyes to Earl and went on our way. For being a rainy day, it really wasn't that bad out. A little overcast but no steady rain. We had a pretty flat elevation day, what we didn't realize was; the roots and rock. During these 13.2 miles there was hardly anything to see. A few lakes/ponds, but the weather was crappy; a whole lot of woods and nothing else. Honestly, I rather have a challenging climb up to a view, than a boring woods walk on roots. It's not that I had a bad day, it's just I could have done without those miles. I wondered how Alpine's road walk went and if he saw anything exciting. We got to a campsite and found Ravioli there so he left and hiked with us. For awhile we all stayed together and talked while we hiked which was nice, but after awhile I let him go ahead and we were scattered. The constant up and down off of roots and balancing was making my knees sore, it was just one of those days. The road felt forever away and I just wanted to be at the hostel. Finally we got a paint countdown to the road; 2mi we saw, then 1mi, we were almost there! Once we got to the parking lot; we found Ravioli waiting for us. I asked him where our hitch was, seems he didn't try. We went down to the road together and within 5 minutes had a ride in a newer Ford Explorer. Puzzle, Lynn, Ravioli, Hog Driver, and I jumped in. Chuck and Henry a father son combination helped us out, and then we saw Miss Janet driving in the opposite direction. Hog Driver got out and started to walk in the direction she was headed, meanwhile; we were pulled off on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic, on a sharp curve-safe. Seems the adult son had just been at the eye doctor and had his pupils dilated. They brought us right to the Farmhouse Inn, thanks guys! It was an adorable old farmhouse that is in the process to be restored and turned into a hostel. I first heard about it from Rocky and Birdie and they had nothing but good things to say about it, and so do I. Stacey gave us the tour and we (Lynn, Ravioli, and I) decided to grab three free bunks upstairs and Puzzle had already grabbed one downstairs. I got my package (thanks Mom!) and we checked out a private suite they just renovated, it was adorable. Old barn wood ceilings, and just small repurposed accents. I would love my house to look like that someday. Out behind the Farmhouse is a gorgeous house that is a bed and breakfast, see photo below! We went upstairs, settled in, and took showers. I climbed in bed and was comfortable enough to go to sleep. However, I knew we would be doing a communal dinner so I couldn't. Catfish and the others had already gotten most of the meal so we sent Puzzle to the store to pick up some more. We got dinner started; Deleware cooked most of it, Engineer and I chopped tomatoes, Ravioli chopped onion, and Puzzle tossed the salad. It was a nice collaborative event and in the end we had ham, chicken, corn on the cob, salad, broccoli, and pumpkin bread-so good! The great thing, it only cost us $5 each! After dinner we hung out and some had cake, I had ice cream. The hostel was full of people and I was glad to be in our seperate room upstairs at the end of the night.